News

The election of the leader of Chechnya, won three years ago by Ramzan Kadyrov, could not be called an "election with alternative candidates," announced Djambulat Umarov, Minister of National Policy of Chechnya, on September 18. Residents of the Chechen Republic drew attention to the ambiguity of the statement voiced by the Minister.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Nagorno-Karabakh reported about an act of diversion committed by Azerbaijani soldiers on September 22 and about the death of one of the attackers.

In the Urus-Martan District of Chechnya, two women and a man were detained and accused by the authorities of engaging in witchcraft (devilry). On September 21, a report on this topic was shown in the news programme of "Grozny" TV company.

During his visit to the journalist, Afgan Mukhtarly, who is kept in an Azerbaijani jail, his advocate, Nemat Kerimli, complained about violence and pressure. The convicted journalist has gone on a hunger strike, demanding an objective investigation into the complaints lodged by his advocate.

Georgian authorities have extradited Ramzan Akhyadov, a 40-year-old native of Chechnya, accused of terrorist activities, to Russia. His relatives express concern about his health and future fate.

In Tbilisi, forced migrants are holding an action demanding to provide them with housing. For the whole weekend securities locked ten protesting women in the lobby of the Ministry for Refugees, Labour, Health and Social Affairs.

A conscript soldier has perished in an Azerbaijani military unit.

Apti Alaudinov, a deputy head of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), has posted a group photo with Ramzan Kadyrov and Makhi Idrisov, who is suspected of arms trafficking, stating "temporary problems of his brother." The operative record, in which Idrisov treated himself as a jobless person and the arsenal seized from him as legal, has caused discontent among Instagram users.

Policemen have detained the participants of the sitting of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) and accused them of violating the rules for holding meetings and issued warnings to them. The PFPA treats it as law enforcers' pressure on the opposition.

On the fifth day of the hunger strike, held in Makhachkala by veterans of the Afghan War, about 20 more protesters have joined the action. The hunger-strikers claim that a thousand veterans were expelled from the housing waiting list under the pretext of losing their documents on participation in the Afghan War.

The arrest of activist, Rafael Guseinzade, expired four days ago, but he is not at large yet; his advocate treats it as a human rights violation, unprecedented for Azerbaijan.

Law enforcers summon parishioners of the "Tangim" mosque and threaten to put them on the so-called "prophylactic registration", Nigmatula Radjabov, the mosque Imam, has stated. The official reasons for the raids on the mosque are not related to the religion, but only the "Tangim" receive such threats, Idris Yusupov, a journalist, has confirmed.

Authorities should stop issuing permits to mining companies, the marchers have stated.

The journalists and rights defenders, who suffered, when their minibus of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) was attacked in Ingushetia in 2016, have complained to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), indicating violations of five articles of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). However, the victims have no hope that their complaints to the ECtHR will contribute to the resumption of an effective investigation of their case in Russia.

On the occasion of the Republic Day in South Ossetia, four days-off were announced, September 20-23. According to the tradition, residents of Tskhinvali, the capital, came to the military parade and festivities, although not everyone knows the meaning of the holiday. In 1990, with the proclamation of the South Ossetian Republic, the process of the collapse of the USSR began, said Mamuka Areshidze, a Georgian political analyst.

The court has ruled to extend the arrest of the Ingush activist, Khasan Katsiev, by three months.

In the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), the celebration of the Circassian (Adyg) Day is accompanied by concerts of folk and student groups. Circassians from five regions of Southern Russia, as well as from other countries, have come to Nalchik, the KBR capital, to take part in the festival.

Today, 15 years after the terror act in the Beslan school, former hostages need medical and social rehabilitation, but receive no support from the authorities. No high-quality rehabilitation of tragedy victims is possible without a state programme, as it needs huge resources, the leaders of the "Beslan Mothers" and "Voice of Beslan" NGO have stated.

The imprisoned Ikram Ragimov, the editor of the "Realliq.info" website, has announced resumption of his hunger strike, demanding his complete acquittal. However, the Azerbaijani Penitentiary Service has objected claiming that the journalist is taking food.

Makha Idrisov, a search at whose home discovered an arsenal of weapons, never worked for the "Anji" FC. That was a reaction of the "Anji" FC's administration to a message from the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reporting that Makha Idrisov, who boasted of his friendship with Ramzan Kadyrov, was the vice president of the "Anji" FC.